You must post a clear and direct question in the title. The title may contain two, short, necessary context sentences.
No text is allowed in the textbox. Your thoughts/responses to the question can go in the comments section. more >>

Any post asking for advice should be generic and not specific to your situation alone. more >>

All 4 wisdom teeth being removed at once. You always hear that is going to be so horrible and hurt so bad, but honestly it was over relatively quickly and it didn't hurt that much at all. I'm much better for having done it all at once, I don't understand how/why people spread them out.

Are people not put to sleep for that procedure in other places?
I got all 4 of mine out when I was 18/19. I was put under and didn't feel anything (even though the dentist said I would). I woke up a little sore, but there was no swelling or pain after.

I had my wisdom teeth and four other teeth pulled out all at the same time for braces. I got sent home for a week with pain pills just to chill out and ate ice cream, I don't understand why some people complain.

On your thesis, remember it will never be perfect. It feels like it will never end, but step away and look at what you have done and what you have left. All the work you've done didn't take forever and you are almost done so keep going.

Thanks. I have those logical moments, then I have the moments of irrational panic. But you're right, it is almost done, and in a couple of months I won't hate everything about it, and I'll be able to brag about being an expert in a ridiculously niche topic.

Every time people ask me what I'm researching, I'm like, "It's about social media, and surveillance, and stuff". If they ask for more detail, their eyes glaze over when I start talking about liquid surveillance and junk. It's fair, my eyes glaze over when I talk to myself about it sometimes.

My Depression . . . (or at least I feel like I'm nearing the end of it)

I've been plagued by depression for nearly half of my life (I'm young). It started with one simple rejection in jr. high which created a self-depreciative outlook which like a snowball on top of a mountain would avalanche into a destructive disaster. Even after high school and I could start anew, my life was irrevocably damaged. I was terrible in most situations as I didn't quite grasp the concept of making friends (I was a two-faced asshole who didn't know anything beyond small talk). Anyway, I spent every night alone. I didn't make into my university's acting program. I couldn't push myself into the other areas but I stayed because it was intriguing. However because of my pandering I wasn't focused in any one area, no legitimate talent or skill in any field. So when Senior year came along . . . I had nothing.

Sorry, I was getting ahead of myself. My Senior year we did a play that a high school kid feel rejected by everyone, utterly alone, and he killed himself. The aftermath in the play showed the kids remorseful for not being there for him. The rage of such utter bullshit pushed me over the edge. I had battled being alone for so long. Freshmen year should've been the start of something different but it was beginning of the end. Senior year with that play fresh in my mind . . . I spiraled downward into oblivion. I couldn't take it, I was a failure. 4 years and no improvement in my life, my social status, my friendships. So I cruised through the rest of my year, not even graduating and just left it like that. I had nothing. I returned home, got a job, just something to keep on living. I was a shell of my former self. I had no hope, just existing from day to day. . .

FINALLY . . . I had been progressing in Stand Up Paddleboarding. My father owns a surf-shop and lets me use his. I started paddling down long trips around the island (Hawaii). I started enjoying the peace and bliss of my surroundings. I was going distances, several miles each trip.

2 weeks ago, I paddled 10 miles from Kapalua to Lahaina Harbor with little difficulty. I had heard that the distance to Lanai (the neighboring island) was only 8 miles away across the channel. So if I could handle a 10 mile trip with ease, I should be able to make it.

Cue: facebook statuses and rallying anyone I could to make the trip for the following Monday. I was rained down on, I'm sorry . . . poured upon, torrential downpour of reasons and excuses why I shouldn't cross the 8 miles to Lanai by myself or do it all together. EVERY REASON THEY GAVE ME reminded me of the ones I gave myself of why I couldn't do something.

I asked everyone I knew if they wanted to join me. They all said no, then I asked
"Well what do you expect me to do?"
They didn't reply.
But I needed this, I needed a Victory. I needed a reason to fight, to not give up. I was looking for Hope. I wanted to be like Frodo, go off on an Adventure, face my own mortality and to fight to live.

The distance to Lanai's Manele Harbor is 16.6 Miles. It's only 8 miles to get to the island. My goal was the harbor, I knew if I got there I could get a ride back.

The weekend before I was planning to go, a storm hit. Rain was everywhere, wind seemed high. I canceled my trip on facebook and told everyone I wasn't going. I had previously alerted a Captain of a tourist catamaran I was making the trip and to look out for me. On Sunday I told him I wasn't doing it. My entire family was under the impression I wasn't going to do it and so was I.

Monday morning, I changed my plans to just paddle down Maui's coastline till I ran out of food and water (I had a decent amount). I accidentally woke my mother who didn't want me paddling any distance to double-check the weather before I took off. I did and I couldn't believe what dawned on me . .

An Act of God didn't ruin my trip, it made it possible.

That Monday the weather had a 40% chance of rain (no sun), meaning not a whole lot of wind (13 mph, supposedly). It was perfect, no current, no wind. I changed my mind. I was going to go for it. I had it in my hands, I could do this.

I drove to Lahaina's Harbor to launch my paddleboard. Locked my truck up and hit the water at 6:30am.

God did give me his blessing. It was very cloudy. I had my iPhone with a waterproof housing and a decent set of earbuds. I promptly texted my Godfather (another Captain) for the (previously mentioned) Captain's phone number, gave him a call and told him I would be crossing the channel and to keep an eye out for me. Too bad he wouldn't see me till the end. . .

I crossed the channel and made it to Lanai's Manele Harbor in 6 hours and 15 minutes. The Captain and his boat of passengers passed me by at mile 13. I still had another hour to go but seeing them was a wonderful sight.

When I reached the dock and loaded my board onto their catamaran. I had no idea just how happy I was. I ran to the beach to meet up with them and shared my story.

I held a strong pace, a fast pace the entire way through. When I caught sight of their boat I paddled as fast as my arms could move me through water with the poly-carbon paddle. My body ached, I desperately tried to find any untapped muscle group to propel me forward. Of course they caught up to me but I had already spent most of strength. Those last 3 miles were the toughest but I could see the harbor in the distance. I was so close. My body was happy to rest after I loaded the board up. My legs expressed their joy at being able to move and sprinted towards the beach to meet up with my former coworkers and friends.

I didn't discover my sense of mortality or some epiphany to accomplish a research paper I deemed myself not fit for. What I did learn was that we are always stronger than we think we are. I paddled 16.6 miles by myself. I did so at a strong pace of nearly 3 miles per hour. When my body was aching I pushed myself to give it everything I had. I gave more than I expected. I know this is a simple lesson, a simple saying but when you personally witness it in yourself. It makes such a huge difference. I paddled through all the excuses and bullshit and accomplished what I thought and knew to be difficult. I'm so grateful

I had my one Victory

It might just be enough to pull me out of this. I believe it can. You go through something like that, with that much meaning, and you'll change.

Good luck to you, and it's great that you've found a way to work through something that's so hard to pull yourself out of. There's not much harder than finding something to get you inspired when you're in the clutches of depression.

The break-up with my boyfriend. I'd been really hurt before and was really insecure and scared about being in a relationship again. The one thing I asked him was to tell me he was doubting us and try to make things work, instead of just breaking up out of the blue. Well, he did exactly that. I was feeling so terrible, every inch of my body hurt and it felt like I couldn't breath. I cried almost non-stop for days, if not weeks. I thought I was never going to be as happy again, for real. But somehow (because I'm awesome, fuck yeah!) I got through it, we got back together and things seem to be working now. I'm quite happy and proud of myself.

This is my second pass at a final year of uni. My undergrad was a bastard, but the pain seems less. A few years from now, I imagine the shiny piece of paper that comes from this thesis will lessen the pain of this degree too. :)

Was held hostage in a take over robbery at a mcdonalds when I was in high school. Longest 12 hours of my life. I knew for sure I was going to die. They had placed us in the walk in freezer for an hour before one of them let us out and then proceeded to make me sit in front of him with a gun to my back/head as a body shield. Hostage negotiators finally talked them out.

When they where coming in one of the girls working there was on the phone with a friend who heard what was going on and called the cops. So when they where coming out after getting the money the cops where pulling up. One of them pulled a gun and got shot in the stomach (he lived) one hid in the bathroom and the last one held us hostage.

Not prison, but the period after, I came out of prison in september. I wasn't even in there for long but I had a pretty bad time. Getting out was the thing I thought I wouldn't survive. I didn't leave my house and kinda broke down, but in the past few days I've been meeting old friends and I wrote some comments about it in other threads, which has helped a lot.

I'd been hearing about the horrors of /b/ and the dreadful posts that live there for several years, until I actually visited it to see with my own eyes. I browsed through a variety of malformed penises, gore gifs and excessive trolling but I made it.

It's not too bad, there are a few posts that are actually interesting (until they derail to trolling). Maybe people exaggerate about /b/, maybe I was just lucky that day.

I took up a really shitty job after just getting out of college. I was desperate and student loan waits for no one. It was "engineering" in the loosest sense of words; you do what you're told and follow a to-do check list. And the job doesn't evolve from first week to next 5 years. It was a small family owned firm. The salary was absolutely pathetic at $38,000 for "engineering" role. Every employee is on H1 work visa, which is the only reason they stayed royal considering the piss poor pay. The job is harsh and often times hazardous. Most everyone that has worked there are deaf because of the noise. I had to handle liquid nitrogen tanks on daily basis and I was always feeling cold. Sometimes the fume jets out and you better hope you're not in the way. We have no personal space or cubes, you go to your own corner among the machinery to take a break or to eat lunch. They have about three computer stations for "writing reports" but old timers would sooner die than to give up their seats. On top of that, my daily commute is around 1 hour 20 minutes each way because of extremely congested traffic. So here I am stuck in a dead end job at the beginning of my career, with piss poor pay, hostile work environment, and stressful commute. I apply jobs at every free time I have. After about 6 months and zero interviews later I honestly was convinced this is it for me. My confidence plummets and I fell into depression. I put on weight and kept distant to my friends. The commute stress me out and sometimes I cry in the car. I have broken my car stereo because I punched it so hard out of frustration at my inability to escape the situation. That was easily the darkest part of my life. But of course I can look back on it and write this now because there was a happy end to it. I got a job interview for a role I absolutely have no skills or education for, and the interview took place against candidates from much much more prestigious colleges. I honestly still have no idea how I got the job. I felt very touched when my boss said on my first annual review "I was doubtful about my choice but after one year, I am glad it was you". I don't think he has any idea how much I love him. He literally saved my life. Now I am 2 years well into the job. My life really turned 180 within first few months and I am much MUCH happier person now! Looking back, that experience was incredibly shitty but it built my character. I only hope more fresh out of college kids will not end up in the same situation as I did. Well thanks for reading my story, if you made it this far.

The worst job I ever worked. Within 3 months I realized that both the company and the people were beyond horrible and starting looking for a new job. It took me over a year to find a new job, and I never thought I would be able to leave where I currently was.

Happy ending - the next job I worked was the best job I ever had, and renewed my faith in humanity. :)

Engineering degree.
Wanted it so bad when I started, but by the time final year rolled around I just wanted to give up. I doubted myself in all my classes and projects and was just looking for an excuse to get out.

It may not be the most dramatic answer but, my husband and I just relocated cross-country. Because of different circumstances, we drove 18 hours straight with a loaded up car and three cats. The heater broke two days before the trip. We took turns sleeping/driving. Looking down at the clock and thinking about how many more miles we had to go was fucking difficult, especially since our car is worn down. I just kept thinking "don't fucking break down. Do not fucking stop on me car. You can die once we are there." The cats constantly trying to get in my lap did not help. (They had blankets, food and water, and were drugged for part of the trip). Pulling up at our new apartment was the biggest relief ever.
Plus that's when the engine started knocking and the car started idling way too high, so some good fucking timing there.

almost everything ....but like others...more than 3 teeth removed...all at once but i was IVd....also broke my collar bone with no insurance....-dont do that- with or w.o. ins. even when ur 25 constant pain and no use of one arm is not fun n not cool.